Modular plugs and modular jacks are commonly used for interconnecting plural wires in a communications system. Signal lines in a communications system are subject to crosstalk which increases in magnitude as operating frequencies of the system are increased. Previous efforts to reduce crosstalk have focused primarily on the crosstalk which occurs in the modular jack. A new standard promulgated by the Electronic Industries Association (EIA) sets crosstalk specifications for the modular plug.
A new concept for reducing crosstalk in a modular plug involves adding a compensating insert to the modular plug. Details of this new concept are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/979,805 filed Nov. 25, 1997, which is owned by the assignee of the present application and which is incorporated by reference as if set forth fully herein. In at least one embodiment of the new crosstalk reduction concept, the compensating insert includes a circuit board which is installed in a cavity in the modular plug. The circuit board carries conductive traces which are arranged at one end of the board to be connected to communications system wiring, and at the other end of the board to be connected to terminals of the modular plug. A problem presented is how to connect the traces on the circuit board to the system wiring at one end and to the terminals of the modular plug at the other end. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/977,544 filed Nov. 25, 1997, which is owned by the assignee of the present application and which is incorporated by reference as if set forth fully herein, presents a solution to this problem. The present invention provides a different solution to the same problem.